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Luke 12:13–12:21, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Luke 12:13–12:21
The Rich Fool Stores for Himself and Loses His Life
An inheritance fight meets a man whose barns outlive him
Someone in the crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance. Jesus refuses the judge's chair: "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" He warns them all to take heed and beware of covetousness, because life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. He tells of a rich man whose ground produced plentifully. The man talks to himself about pulling down barns and building greater ones, storing grain and goods, and saying to his soul, take ease, eat, drink, be merry.
God says, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be?" So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. The harvest itself is not condemned. Isolated accumulation, self-address, false security, and the absence of neighbor and God shape the critique. The parable is not a complete inheritance law, and it is not class hatred. Plenty becomes folly when it has no one to share it with and no account to God.
How this should shape us
Do not baptize a family money fight as a spiritual emergency Jesus must referee. If your work or land produces well, plan without talking only to yourself. Store less as a private bunker. Wealth is not evil because it is wealth; hoarding that forgets God and neighbor is the fool's move, and sneering at people who have resources is not this parable's work.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Luke 12:13–12:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 12:13–12:21
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Supports: Focused ethical control for wealth and poverty without converting one commentary into a full economic history.
Mitzi J. Smith, “Commentary on Luke 16:19-31,” complete sections on Luke's wealth sequence, Lazarus, bodily poverty, reversal, and present justice; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 12:13–12:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 12:13–12:21
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Luke Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current online edition
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Luke: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World
Matthew L. Skinner
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Luke
Peter G. Bolt
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Exact location: Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗modern scholarly open monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; open access supplied by the author and Duke University, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗modern scholarly pastoral passage commentary
Commentary on Luke 16:19-31
Mitzi J. Smith
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2021
Supports: Focused ethical control for wealth and poverty without converting one commentary into a full economic history.
Exact location: Mitzi J. Smith, “Commentary on Luke 16:19-31,” complete sections on Luke's wealth sequence, Lazarus, bodily poverty, reversal, and present justice; applied to Luke 12:13–12:21
Open source ↗